Rare lynx

Where are cats and there are cats and… then there are ‘big cats’ and yes, we have all of these right here in Pakistan where the recent, still scientifically unconfirmed, sighting of a couple of lynx, somewhere between Murree and Nathia Gali, has wildlife specialists standing on their heads! Lynx, scientifically known as ‘felis lynx’, are a rare and highly unusual sight although they are present, in small numbers in Gilgit-Baltistan, Hunza, Upper Hazara and Azad Kashmir and World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan does have a Lynx Conservation Programme up and running in Chitral where, with the full cooperation of the local community, these gorgeous wild animals are breeding and multiplying albeit very slowly. Lynx are classified as ‘medium’ sized cats, but really are quite large: they have a shortish back, stumpy tail, very muscular legs evolved for fast running and an average adult specimen measures approximately 40 – 46 inches from the tip of its nose to the end of its fat tail and weighs in at around 25kg which is quite a bundle of cat! With very distinctive ‘tufted’ ears, lynx have one major problem — they wear the most incredibly soft, beautifully marked, fur coats ever and, even in this day and age when many people refuse to wear fur, lynx pelts — this is the name of an animal’s fur/hide — bring a massive price on the illegal market here in Pakistan, in neighbouring Afghanistan and in other countries of the world too where people are prepared to pay many hundreds of thousands of rupees for a lynx pelt to show off to friends. Very thinly distributed in high mountain areas, the lynx in Pakistan tend to lie up in a safe place, perhaps a cave or sheltered rocky hollow, during the day and emerge to hunt from late afternoon, on through the night until just after sunrise when, if their stomachs are full, they will return to their lair to sleep through the rest of the day. With exceptionally acute eyesight, good hearing and an amazingly strong sense of smell, these big cats are very accomplished hunters, tracking down and catching animals including ibex and markhor, smaller animals and birds. Lynx breed just once a year, giving birth to two or three kittens, rarely four, during late spring or early summer and an adult lynx lives for an average of around 16 – 18 years in the wild and as long as 24 years in captivity. If the lynx sighting between Murree and Nathia Gali is confirmed — there is a photograph of the animal in circulation, taken in the snow, at the roadside in late January but the person who took it has not yet been identified — then this will be of great significance indeed as it will be the first ever recorded sighting of lynx in this particular area. If you know who took this mystery photograph please request them to contact the writer: zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Thank you. i